


Family

by pianosexual



Category: Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M, Peter is adopted, Peter-centric, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel), i'm dumb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-09 12:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1982592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pianosexual/pseuds/pianosexual
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Peter Parker's aunt and uncle are both killed by a thief, he ends up in an orphanage with no family. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, the most popular members of the Avengers, have decided to take their relationship further and start a family. They want to adopt Peter, who is reluctant to get close to new people. At his own pace, however, Peter realizes that he has a new family in Steve, Tony, and the Avengers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Second fic ever over here! So, this fic goes with the Avengers movie, and kinda with Amazing Spider-Man.  
> In this fic, Aunt May dies along with Uncle Ben when Peter let that thief go. I really wanted to write this fic because I've read so many superfamily fics in which Peter was just inexplicably there since childhood, but I think the whole point of Spider-Man is Peter's tragic backstory. So I made him a teenager when he gets adopted by Steve and Tony.  
> Also, forgive me if I screw up Steve or Tony's or someone else's characters; this is my first time writing them.  
> Please criticize constructively (I need it, ha)!!!

Today was July 18.

It had been exactly one month since Peter Parker had set foot in St. Mary’s Home for Foster Children, and he hated every moment of it.

Peter didn’t even feel sorry for himself; it was _his_ fault he was here in the first place. Aunt May and Uncle Ben had died because of him. His lack of responsibility, his immaturity, all him. Uncle Ben had always told him that with great power came great responsibility, and he’d chosen a moment too late to take it to heart. _His entire fault_. And every moment in this orphanage reminded him of what he’d done to the two people he loved more than anything.

He deserved all of it. He probably even deserved worse, because what kind of kid with superpowers would just _let_ a stupid thief get away when he could’ve easily stopped him? What kind of kid could just _let_ his aunt and uncle— basically his _parents_ — get murdered? He almost wanted to feel the pain of being stuck here, something to atone for his actions, or, lack of action. He knew it would do no good in the long run, but it still felt better than nothing. He also knew that the only way to make up for it all ( _nothing will ever make up for this ever but I have to_ try, _don’t I_ ) was to be Spider-Man, to be responsible with his power and to try and prevent other people’s uncles and aunts and loved ones from meeting the same fate as his.

Another thing about Spider-Man, Peter thought, was that even though he put on the costume to be responsible, it was also fun and _freeing._ Sneaking out every night and swinging through New York, the concrete jungle, the city that never sleeps, and feeling the breeze and seeing people _admire_ Spider-Man all gave him a good feeling, like things were gonna be okay after all the dumb, irresponsible shit he’s done in the past.

He couldn’t tell anybody about this, though. Nobody could know the person under the mask.  Judging from his first few encounters with villains, Spider-Man would make countless, revenge seeking enemies. Peter had only been Spider-Man for a little over a month and the Kingpin was already on his ass. What would stop Kingpin and all those other enemies from using Peter’s identity to blackmail him, or harm an acquaintance or a friend? Gwen Stacy, or Harry Osborn, or even Flash Thompson could all be in danger because of him, and he would _not_ be able to cope with another loss.

Peter realized that he was moping and dwelling on his stupid thoughts ( _Peter Parker_ who _do you think you are, stop moping around all day and pick yourself back_ up _already_ ), so he reached for his backpack to catch up on his schoolwork. School was pretty much his only source of normalcy now that he had wacky powers and no real home. Just as he was about to open his Spanish textbook, a caretaker stepped inside his room.

“Peter Parker? There’s some people who’d like to meet you,” the caretaker said, looking at Peter with something that looked like a mix of sympathy and nervousness.

This made Peter curious. Who would want to see him? What family ( _or friends_ ) did he have left? “Who is it?”

“It’s… they’re looking to adopt you. They’re very nice, and you fit their personalities perfectly, so… so… Listen,” the caretaker sighed, noticing Peter’s lack of expression, “I know it’s hardly been a month, and you’re probably still… you’re not… you know, ready. But you need to give it a chance, don’t you think? You shouldn’t just-”

“I know, I know. I’ll do it, I’m fine,” Peter plastered a reassuring smile on his face and twiddled his thumbs after he placed his Spanish textbook back in his backpack. For once, he was actually looking forward to conjugating verbs, but he decided that this was way more important and he followed the caretaker into the meeting room in silence.

The caretaker finally spoke when they reached the door to the meeting room, “So, I’ll be leaving you alone with them now, so you can, you know, get to know one another.”

Peter watched as the caretaker began to slowly drift away from him. Horrible ideas waltzed across his mind: What if he didn’t _want_ them to adopt him, would he have a say in anything? What if they were like the Dursleys, from Harry Potter? ( _but that doesn’t even make_ sense, _if they were anything like the Dursleys they wouldn’t adopt me in the first place, you’re just being paranoid_ ) But there was one thought in particular that gnawed at him; how long would he be able to keep Spider-Man a secret before they found out? For some odd reason, Peter didn’t think that his being Spider-Man would really “fit the personalities” of most adoptive guardians. Besides, being a teenager alone was enough of a handful.

He began walking towards his potential guardians. Two guys, middle aged, looked like a happy couple, one blond and one with black hair—

And then Peter’s eyes bulged when he got close enough.

That’s fuckin _Captain America and Iron Man_.

The first thing that came to Peter’s mind was: _they know_. They knew he was Spider-Man and now they were either going to recruit him to the Avengers ( _ha, dream on, Pete_ ) or they were going to arrest him and put him in some supervillain containment thing like the NYPD were trying to do.

The last thing Peter would have guessed was that they were _actually_ trying to adopt him, but they looked kinda convincing, holding hands and wearing civilian clothes and _smiling_ at him like that.

“Hey Peter, I’m Tony Stark,” Iron Man— _Tony Stark_ — said. Peter couldn’t believe his ears or eyes.

“And I’m Steve Rogers. Please, sit down with us. And don’t be so nervous, son, I can see the anxiety all over your face. I know what you’re thinking—“

“Yeah, Pete (can I call you that?), please don’t get nervous because we’re, like, superheroes or whatever. We have lives outside of that and we feel like a family would be… what we need,” Tony said, “We’re at a stage that we can support a family now, and we want you to be a part of it. It’s completely your choice, though. What do you think?”

Peter took a few moments to pointedly blink in bewilderment. Finally, he said, “So… you guys wanna, like, _raise_ me as your kid? Start a _family_? Don’t you have too many superhero obligations? Like, how do you think you’re gonna make time for me? Am I in trouble? Is this a trick?”

Tony and Steve exchanged a glance.

“Peter, we understand if you’re not comfortable with living with us. It’s just… we read your file and we thought you would be a perfect fit with us. I mean, you love science and you’re a teenager, which means that you could put up with Tony’s sciencey crap and we won’t have to worry about babysitters or anything if we get emergency calls. You’re smart and you seem polite and an overall good kid and we think,” Steve said, glancing at Tony, “We think that having a family to come home to would be good for all three of us.”

“And no, you’re not in trouble and we aren’t tricking you,” Tony continued, “We’d never do something like that. I’m sorry if we’re freaking you out. You know, usually people are star struck by us. You’re the first kid we saw that didn’t immediately want us to take them home.”

Peter was finally convinced that neither Steve nor Tony knew that he was Spider-Man. It was just a really freaky chance that two Avengers wanted to _adopt_ him. He took a shaky breath and told the two superheroes his fear:  
“I know that superhero life isn’t as glamorous as it looks. My aunt and uncle were my heroes, and they were killed. What if that happens to one of us?”

“Peter, listen to me. We will give our lives to protect—“

“I know, Tony!” Peter wasn’t sure if he should be addressing Tony Stark like that, but hey, if the guy wanted to be his guardian ( _I can’t say the “f” word because Uncle Ben will always be my dad_ ), then _Tony_ should get used to it, “I know you’re gonna do that. That’s my whole point! I’m gonna let my guard down and then when I least expect it I’m gonna lose you guys and it’ll be my fault.” Again.

“No,” Steve said, “no, we’ll never leave you like that. Son, we’re the top cops of America. We’d never try to adopt you if we thought we wouldn’t be able to—“

“Fine, okay, fine. Please don’t call me ‘son’,” Peter said. He felt like a jerk when he said that, knowing that Steve didn’t mean “son” like _that_ , but everything was still a little too soon for him, “I get it. You guys are _Avengers_. You can handle the world. Literally. One teenager isn’t gonna be that hard for you guys to take care of.”

Steve frowned, “We didn’t mean it like that. We know it’ll be tough, but we’re willing. We want a family. Just, please, think about this. You’re a sharp kid, you’ll decide what’s right for yourself.”

“Do… do you want some time to think about it? We can give you a few minutes—“

“ _Tony_ ,” Steve said with a tone, “Peter, take as long as you need to decide. Sleep on it for a few nights if you want. Just remember that we are more than ready to take you in.”

Peter felt bad when he heard that. If these guys thought they could just whip up the family they craved by adopting him, they were crazy. It would take a while for them to come even close to a family. Maybe they knew that, though. Maybe they knew, and the fact that they were still willing to try made Peter’s heart swell. These guys have faced all sorts of monsters, and Peter could only imagine the demons they faced from their battles, since he also faced his own demons from his few battles as Spider-Man. In addition to the things he’d seen as Spider-Man, having his family killed had forced Peter to grow up really quickly. If he moved in with Steve and Tony, would he have a second chance at being a kid? Probably not, but Steve and Tony were being awfully considerate. From the looks of it, they _really_ wanted a family, and they could pretty much have any kid they wanted, and they came to _him_ , and they left it all up to him to decide where he wanted to go. For the first time, Peter saw an outlet, saw that he _wouldn’t_ have to live at the orphanage until he was eighteen. Instead, he could live with two Avengers who wanted to be his f— _guardians_.

There was still one big problem, though. _Spider-Man._ What the hell would happen to Spider-Man if Peter moved in with other superheroes? He did _not_ want to tell them, since they definitely didn’t sign up for _that_ when they said they wanted Peter. And if they found out, they’d for sure force him to stop because Peter was not only a minor but also their responsibility. But on the other hand, if he told them, it would be a whole lot easier being Spider-Man with two Avengers’ help. Plus, he wouldn’t have to find hiding spots for his web shooters.

Peter thought about it. He couldn’t risk Steve and Tony’s potential negative reaction, so Spidey would have to remain a secret, at least until he was eighteen ( _it’s okay Pete, you only have to sneak around behind_ Iron Man’s and Captain America’s _backs for like, two fuckin years before you tell them_ ).

“Peter? You okay?” Tony asked softly.

Peter looked up at the two men. He almost forgot that they were right there this whole time, “Okay. Yeah, I can’t stay here forever. I’ll… I’ll go with you guys.”

Both men looked overjoyed. Steve’s head shot up in excitement and Tony started babbling about how cool Stark Tower was and that Peter would love it there ( _uh oh, how the hell am I gonna sneak out of Stark Tower behind the two top Avengers every night? This is all kinds of crazy, even for Spider-Man_ ).

 

 

All kinds of crazy he was, because one week later Peter found himself fully moved in at Stark Tower. He was sitting on his new memory foam bed, staring out his new, huge window in his new, gigantic room. Everything was so… big, that he didn’t even know what to do with himself. He wanted to take everything apart and yet he was scared to touch anything. Steve and Tony told him to make himself at home, obviously, but he’d never felt further from home in his life. He _needed_ to sneak out right away, but there was some dumb ( _actually the farthest thing from dumb_ ) security robot thing— _JARVIS_ — that apparently protected the entire building. It looked like Spider-Man couldn’t make an appearance as long as stupid JARVIS was around.

Peter left his room to meet Steve and Tony in the dining room for dinner. It was his second night living with them and having dinner with them. The first night was extremely strained and awkward, and Peter hoped he wouldn’t have to go through that much awkward ever again in his entire life. For a moment he considered staying in his room the whole night, but that would just be unfair to his new guardians. They were trying pretty hard, so it was only fair that he try too.

Peter sat at the table and smiled when Steve and Tony broke their conversation to greet him. Then it got awkward again ( _noooo, nope please no no no_ ). Peter shifted uncomfortably, and JARVIS announced the names of the dishes on the table. _JARVIS._

“Hey, uh, Tony?” Peter asked. He saw Tony’s face relax and he heard Steve let out a sigh of relief. Peter was desperate for a simple conversation, “Can you… explain JARVIS to me? I mean, I find the whole artificial intelligence thing kinda interesting.”

“Of course! Man, I thought no one would ask!” Tony explained the mechanics and specifications of JARVIS. Peter listened intently, occasionally interrupting Tony’s rambling with his own sciencey questions. Steve ate quietly and watched them fondly. All three were just glad that they were capable of holding a steady conversation without awkward silences.

About an hour after dinner, the three men were sitting together in the living room. Tony was fixing up some Iron Man parts, Steve was reading a newspaper ( _wow, people still read newspapers_ ) and Peter was confusing himself trying to conjugate Spanish verbs ( _how am I a science genius but a dumbass at Spanish_ ).

“Hey, Tony,” Steve said suddenly. Peter had to remind himself that Steve was talking to Tony Stark and not Tony the Tiger.

“What’s up, blondie?”

“What do you think of this new kid?”

Peter looked up to see what Steve was talking about. Steve was holding up the newspaper and pointing to the front page headline, _Spider-Man: Friend or Foe?_

“The kid’s a badass,” Tony replied simply, “He (or she, you never know) took down the Kingpin all by himself.”

“That’s not what the Bugle says,” Steve frowned, glancing at the article, which accused Spider-Man of siding with the Kingpin.

“I’ve sold pictures to the Bugle before,” Peter said, “The editor has a thing against Spider-Man.”

“Completely ridiculous, if you ask me. Spidey’s a good guy, he’s one of us. Maybe we should get him to work for us.”

Peter’s heart sped up at Tony’s words, but then he saw the look on Steve’s face.

“Are you _crazy_?” Steve said, “We know nothing about the guy. People claim he’s a _menace_. Not to mention that he’s a masked vigilante who refuses to show his face. We need to arrest him before he does something… something _irresponsible_.”

“Irresponsible?” Peter croaked. Steve liked Peter, but it looked like Captain America hated Spider-Man, which stung more than Peter thought it would, “H-how is he irresponsible? He has powers and he’s using them for good, isn’t he?”

“People with powers are never that black and white, Peter. Trust me on that.”

“I didn’t say he’s black and white,” Peter said, trying hard to cover up his anger and hurt, “but he’s never hurt a single innocent person. Even the street robbers he captures are virtually unharmed.”

“You seem to know a lot about Spider-Man, Peter,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow, “How do you know where to find him?”

“What?” Peter was getting nervous. He hadn’t even lived here for a week and the two Avengers were already asking suspicious questions ( _well, they_ are _Avengers, what were you expecting? They’re not idiots_ ). He looked at Tony, who was eyeing him, and then at Steve, who was eyeing Tony.

“Yeah, Tony, what are you talking about? Don’t scare poor Peter.”

“I’m not trying to _scare_ him, I just think I know why he wasn’t so star struck when he met us,” Tony pointed to the bottom of the Spider-Man article, _Photo Credit: Peter Parker_ , “he’s already met a superhero.”

Tony was getting way too close ( _wow I’m so dumb how could I ever have thought that this could stay a secret I mean I’m staying in the most secure building in New York City with the two biggest superheroes in the fuckin country_ ). Peter had to lie. Peter had to lie to his new guardians. Peter had to lie to _Avengers_.

“It was a chance meeting and I just happened to have my camera from yearbook club. I needed some cash so I sold the pictures. You really think he’s a hero?”

“As of now, yeah,” Tony smiled, seeming convinced by Peter’s excuse.

While Tony’s support of Spider-Man gave Peter a little comfort, he was still scared out of his mind, “I, uh, I’m gonna go to bed early. I need to catch up on my sleep. Good night,” Peter called, already stepping out of the living room.

Peter zoomed into his room, getting right to work. He scoured the walls and floorboards, and finally he found a panel on the ceiling ( _almost_ too _easy_ ). Unscrewing the panel, Peter used every ounce of information he’d extracted from Tony to try and deprogram JARVIS from his room without alerting the whole system. It took about an hour of tweaking and prodding at wires, buttons, and switches, but it seemed like he managed to do it.

There was only one way to find out.

“JARVIS?” Peter called. No reply. He pressed the security button, also no reply. Even the emergency button didn’t work ( _YES I ACTUALLY DID IT HOLY SHIT I’M THE BEST_ ). He checked his door to make sure it was locked. It was just about 9:15 PM. The night was very young.

Finally, Peter changed into his suit, opened the window, and swung away, enjoying the warm, evening air.


	2. The Middle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um hi! Sorry this chapter is kinda late. I'm gonna be honest and say I was being really lazy along with being caught up with real life.  
> Also... i screwed up!!!! In the last chapter I said that Peter was studying Spanish but it was like, the end of July so yeah oops. Can we say that he's taking summer classes so that he can free up his schedule for more science classes when school starts? I'm going with that. Sorry!  
> And yeah I tried to touch on Steve and Tony's relationship but I didn't wanna make it more awkward than it already was so I didn't touch it as much as I wanted to, sorry! Also Wolverine is important in this chapter. I love him.  
> So yeah I hope you guys like this chapter!

"...Maybe he needs a therapist?"

"We should confront him first, Steve. Adopted or not, he's still our son."

Peter listened to his guardians talk about him. He was doing it the old fashioned way, holding a stethoscope to their door like an idiot _(hey, I'm just surprised that this door isn't soundproof_ ). He knew he shouldn't be snooping, but he was only doing it because he needed to know how much they knew. This morning he was greeted by JARVIS. In his _room_. After two whole months.

"He doesn't like us, Tony. He's acting fine on the outside, but I can tell he's still uncomfortable with us."

"Oh, what gave _that_ away?" Peter could practically see Tony rolling his eyes, "Was it the way he acted around us with his girlfriend, or was it finding out that he deprogrammed JARVIS behind our backs?"

"He _what_?"

"Uh huh. Just found out today. I don't even know how long he’s managed to pull this off for. That's why I wanted to confront him. He's hiding something."

"We knew that already. He's been coming home with random injuries and he's not telling us what happened."

"He managed to deprogram JARVIS.  In Stark Tower. Right under our noses. He's a mini science genius. He's probably getting bullied at school for being a nerd."

"Tony! Don't call him that. But if that's the case, why won't he just tell us?"

"You said it yourself, Steve. He doesn't like us. And he clearly doesn't trust us for some reason. Kinda weird, right? If he doesn't trust  us, whom _does_ he trust? We're the frickin Avengers!"

"... He trusts Gwen."

"His girlfriend? Great help _that_ is. She's loyal to Peter, she's never gonna answer our questions."

"I know, but at least he has someone. I just want him to be... _Not_ sad or uncomfortable, and she's good for him. He’s at that age where he needs someone to talk to."

"Ugh, teenagers. Such depressing little shits."

"Tony! He's been through a lot. Let's talk to him, but we have to be gentle or else we'll scare him away."

"Okay, okay. But you have to start it. There’s no way I’m talking first. God, this whole family thing is harder than I thought, Steve. Superpowers and iron robot suits, I can understand that stuff. Misunderstood teenagers is a whole other thing."

"You... You're not having... Second thoughts, are you?"

"About what?"

"About Peter."

Peter lifted the stethoscope from the door. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the next part. He took a deep breath and put the stethoscope back. He had to know, even if the truth hurt.

"What? Steve, he's the first kid I've met who didn't immediately make me wanna pull my hair out. Even now, after he's been tampering with my best fucking security system, completely abusing our trust, I still believe in the kid. He needs parents, not just legal guardians. I hope _you're_ not having second thoughts... Are you?"

“Definitely not.”

“I can tell. You really like that kid, don’t’ you, Steve?”

“Yeah. And I really like you too, Tony.”

“… _Ew_!”

“I know, I know, but—”

“You’re gross, Steve, oh my god!”

“But I—“

“Don’t say it! I know you’re gonna say it!”

“I love you.”

“… _Dammit_. I love you too.”

Peter felt like he was intruding now. He suddenly heard footsteps from the other side of the door and he jerked his dumb stethoscope away.

Peter scurried away into his room before they could come out and see him. They really do care, he thought, but he was still afraid to trust them. He was afraid of trusting new people, because then he'd forget about his aunt and uncle. He was also scared that he would trust them and then they would die, just like last time, but only worse because they're superheroes. And he was _really_ scared that he would trust them and they'd find out about Spider-Man and hate him forever. Besides, he had already abused their trust and hurt their feelings by the way he’d been acting.  
Peter _wanted_ to trust them, though. And it sucked that he couldn't.  
  
Peter went into the living room later and found Steve and Tony and a guy with an eyepatch, talking with hushed voices. He was probably intruding on some top secret Avengers business.  
"Are you the kid?" Eyepatch guy said, squinting at Peter with his good eye.

"I'm _a_ kid," Peter replied, "Are you like, the Avengers' stage manager or something?"

Eyepatch guy smirked, "Something like that. I'm Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and founder of the Avengers Initiative.’

"Huh, cool. Hey Nick, I'm Peter," Peter said, knowing he should be feeling more nervous around the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He glanced at Tony, who was looking at Steve, who was looking at him with a half worried half happy face. It kinda creeped him out, "Uh, so I came down here because I was wondering if it's okay if I slept over at Gwen's today."

Steve and Tony exchanged a glance ( _uh oh_ ). Nick fury raised an eyebrow at them.

"I can't wait here all day. We can talk about this later. I have to go," Fury said, already halfway out the door.

When Nick Fury was out of sight, Steve exhaled and said, "Peter, we need to talk to you. Tell Gwen you can't go. Besides, it's not a good idea for a kid your age to be spending nights with his girlfriend," Steve paused to step on Tony’s foot; whatever Tony just mumbled, it suspiciously sounded like "cockblock."  Steve continued, “You’d tell us if something was bothering you, right?”

“Um, I guess I would… why?” Peter asked, already knowing why.

“I know what you did with JARVIS,” Tony said.

“I—”

“I’m not mad at you, Peter. We’re just concerned that you’re hiding things from us. You have to learn to trust us at _some_ point. Tell us why you tried to get rid of JARVIS.”

“I… it freaked me out so I deprogrammed it. I’m sorry for doing that to you, it was unfair,” Peter said. Even _he_ knew that was a weak excuse.

“If it freaked you out, you should’ve come to us,” Steve said, “Somehow I don’t buy it. And I don’t buy that you were going to Gwen’s either. Come on, Peter. Don’t be like this.”

Peter actually _was_ going to go to Gwen’s, but he was going to go there swinging and he was going to spend the night on patrol, so it was a half-truth. He couldn’t possibly tell the full truth, even though he felt really guilty about it.

“I… don’t know. I didn’t trust _anyone_ when I moved in and… I honestly wasn’t thinking about you guys’ feelings and I,” Peter said, meaning every word, “I’m really sorry.”

Tony sighed, “It’s alright. We know it’s probably really hard for you, but you _have_ to trust us. Anyone else who did what you did would be in jail right now, but you’re not. That’s ‘cause we _trust_ you. You should do the same for us.

“I will,” Peter said, somehow managing to feel worse with Tony’s words. Here he was, lying through his teeth and taking advantage of these guys, and they still trusted him fully, “I’ll try. Can I at least visit Gwen now and come back in the night?”

“Sure,” Steve said, “We’ll take you.”

“No,” Peter said a little too quickly, “No, I can take the subway, it’s alright. The A train goes straight to—“

“ _We’ll_ take you,” Steve repeated. Peter couldn’t argue.

 

Being escorted by two Avengers to your girlfriend’s is way more nerve-wracking than it seems, Peter thought. Maybe it was because he’d had this nightmare before, except it was two Avengers escorting Spider-Man to a containment facility instead.

When Gwen had first seen his guardians, she’d nerded out. Who _wouldn’t_ nerd out at the sight of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers? Especially for someone like Gwen, who was an even bigger science nerd than Peter. Peter would’ve thought that she’d be used to the whole superhero thing since she was dating one, but if anything, it just intensified her fangirling over his da- _guardians._

So naturally, Peter was kinda nervous whenever Steve and Tony were around Gwen. He acted funny because he didn’t know _how_ to act when he was around them at the same time. With Gwen he was so free and himself, but with Steve and Tony he was almost the opposite. He decided that he wanted to avoid being in the same room with all three of them at the same time as much as he could.

Today was unavoidable, though.

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Rogers, hey! What a pleasant surprise. I’m so glad to meet you guys again! Peter needs to bring you guys here more often. Maybe I could ask my mom to have you over for dinner one night?” Gwen bursted, clearly brimming with excitement. Peter suppressed a groan and tuned out their conversation in an attempt to spare himself from embarrassment.

 

After hanging out with Gwen for dinner, Peter swung through the city. He thought about how lucky he was to have her in his life. She was the one person he could tell anything to, and this wasn’t just about Spider-Man. He could tell her _everything_ and not feel awful. Peter checked his phone while he was swinging. 8:00PM. The sunset really looked gorgeous through the lush buildings along the Highline. Hues of orange and red swirled around him, and the clouds looked... Black?

Suddenly, Peter smelled smoke. An apartment building a few blocks away was smoldering ( _shit shit shit_ ). As he approached the building, he heard screams from the inside ( _fourth floor, a child and a dog. They'll suffocate before they burn_ , shit).

Peter didn't think; he just dove in. He had to save them ( _don't even think about yourself just think of them_ ). It was all a haze of smoke and heat and fire and coughing and yelling, but he managed to collect the child and the dog.

"Oh my god! Spider-Man, save us!" The kid was sobbing and hyperventilating. _Very_ bad thing to do, limited oxygen and all.

Peter lowered the kid and the puppy from the window of the burning apartment with a strand of webbing. He watched with relief as he saw a firefighter helping them to the ground safely. Then he thought about himself.

The smoke was making it hard to breathe and see, and the heat of the fire disoriented him. He tried to feel around for the window, but he seemed to have gotten lost in the small apartment. His lungs were filling up with smoke, and just before he passed out, Peter saw a stout figure making a beeline for him.

 

  
Peter woke up in an unfamiliar bathtub. He looked around, taking in the small, grimy bathroom ( _ohmygod oh my god where the hell am I oh my god I'm naked_ oh my god _is my mask on?!_ ). He felt his face and sighed with relief. Whoever put him here had the decency to keep his mask on., which brought him to the question: _Who saved him from the fire and why?_ _  
_Peter gingerly stepped out of the bathtub and dried himself off with a towel. He found his tattered suit on the floor, put it on, an opened the door.

He found Wolverine in the kitchen ( _holy shit_ Wolverin _e saved me oh my god, Wolverine the fucking_ Avenger _saved me_ ).

"Oh good, you're awake," Wolverine said casually. He was a lot shorter than Peter expected.

"I... Oh my _god_ ," was all Peter could manage.

"Yeah, I know. You almost fuckin’ died, kid. You're lucky I'm nice enough to keep your private life private. Now get outta here before I _do_ call the cops or the Avengers.  
Peter glanced around Wolverine’s apartment. He was about to say ‘thank you’ but then he noticed his web shooters, slyly hidden in a mess on the kitchen table. It was pretty clear that Wolverine wasn't planning on returning those. He was probably going to take them to the Avengers to analyze ( _shit my fingerprints are all over those things_ ).  
Wolverine noticed Peter eyeing the web shooters, but before he could move, Peter grabbed them and jumped out the window. Wolverine may be virtually indestructible, but Peter was still more agile.

When Peter reached Stark Tower, he was scared out of his mind. It was past midnight, the police had tried to shoot him just a block away, and he had to steal new civilian clothes from a store since he lost his entire backpack to the fire ( _I guess  I'm not passing Spanish this year_ ). He tiptoed in, even though he knew it was pointless because of fucking JARVIS. As if on cue, the lights blared and AI's voice sounded:  
"Master Stark, Peter has entered Stark Tower."

( _Shiiit_.)

Within seconds, Steve and Tony were towering over Peter, both sporting angry and worried faces.  
"Peter--"

"I'm _so_ sorry!" Peter cried desperately, "I'm so sorry. I... I got... I was _caught_ in something and I just couldn't..."

Peter looked up at Steve and Tony, tears stinging his eyes. That was pretty surprising, since he rarely cried, but he couldn't even bring himself to care about that as he looked at his guardians' faces.

All of a sudden he was sorry for _everything_. He was sorry for what he did to Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He was sorry for being so distant to his guardians when they were trying their hardest to be his new parents. He was sorry that he had to lie to everyone because he was Spider-Man. He was even sorry about Gwen, who was constantly in danger just because he chose to date her.

Peter felt Steve's strong arms around him and heard Tony’s voice saying something that his mind wasn’t processing. He didn't even realize how he managed to end up on the ground with tears pouring down his face, but here he was, and Steve and Tony were helping him through it. He felt waves of shame and gratitude as he sobbed into Steve's arms.

The next morning, Peter woke up to several unfamiliar voices and the smell of breakfast. He rolled off his bed and made his way into the kitchen to find a whole bunch of Avengers. Black Widow ( _oh boy_ please _get rid of that dumb crush_ ), Hawkeye, Thor, and Bruce Banner were hanging around the coffee maker and Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman ( _ugh she stole my name I had it first_ ), and Luke Cage were eating at the table.

If Peter thought _he_ was freaking out to see the Avengers, the Avengers were probably twice as freaked out to see _him_.

“Oh my _god!_ ”

“This is the kid?”

That’s him! That’s frickin’ _him!_ ”

“You’re Peter, right? Tony told me you like science…”

“Shit, you’re tiny! But then again, I’m damn huge.”

“Welcome, child. Do you wish to drink a coffee?”

“Thor, don’t scare him. I’m Clint, the mightiest Avenger of all.”

They were all _over_ Peter. He felt like he was back in the third grade, when he fell in the mud and all his classmates crowded around him and pointed at him because they thought he pooped his pants.

“I… I’m Peter, yeah. Oh my god, uh, can I get some eggs?”

Peter was eating with the _Avengers_. They were nuts, too. Thor was like, _so_ happy and Bruce Banner was completely different from the Hulk and his crush on Black Widow was _definitely_ gone now that he’d met Natasha Romanoff. Luke Cage was terrifying even when he tried not to be, and he couldn’t have asked for a better person than Jessica Drew to rip off the name ‘Spider-Man.’ Peter _liked_ the Avengers. He was having _fun_ with them.

And then Wolverine came in and sniffed the air suspiciously.

“Who the hell invited Spider-Man?” he said, looking straight at Peter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
